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Lazy Monkey

I was looking for a new place to try for things like Taiwanese bubble tea and other small snacks. I went online and found this place called Lazy Monkey which offered great reviews – but it was located at the other end of town at Norbrent Shopping Centre (across from Churchill High School).

We knew we wanted to have their Milk Tea of some sort. They didn’t have an extensive drink menu, but what they had was pretty good! I had their Jasmine Green Milk Tea which was really good.

We had 5 of us for this evening, so we ordered a bunch of miscellaneous snacks and meals to share. The first that came out was the Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings which was really good. It was really crispy and fried to perfection. A lot of seasoning on each wing, which is always nice.

We also had an order of their Fried Puffy Tofu which really wasn’t anything special. The seasoning tasted like the MSG packages from instant noodles, and the texture was a little chewier than what you’d expect for a puffy tofu. When I think of puffy tofu, I think of it being hollow in the centre. Who knows, maybe that’s how the Taiwanese do it! 🙂

Then, we our order with Fried Squid Tentacles which was fun! They had big pieces of tentacles and they were really soft and tender with lots of flavour. This was a great dish!

Then, we had 2 dishes of their main, one was their Egg wrapped Rice with Curry and I’m not sure what the actual name on their menu was, but it wasn’t bad. It was neat as they made a nice omelette and wrapped it around rice. Then, there was a large section of curry that didn’t carry much flavour or seasoning.

The last thing we ordered was what we think was called Taiwanese Chicken Meal which was a large portion of chicken, with some vegetables and a bowl of rice. It also had a hard boiled egg braised in Chinese soy sauce marinade.

Overall, we had fun and the food wasn’t bad at all. I personally liked their little snacks more than their meals, and I did enjoy their drinks! I’m sure we will be back as we did enjoy it!

Lazy Monkey on Urbanspoon

Lazy Monkey

3616 52 Ave NW, Unit 11
Calgary, AB
(403) 338-2123

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Ceili’s Irish Pub and Restaurant

I was at Macleod Trail South area and was getting hungry. I wasn’t too sure where to go, so we just got out of the car and walked around. We ended up walking by Ceili’s Irish Pub and it caught our attention as they were roasting a pig outside on the patio! Once we saw that, we knew we’re in – even though it wasn’t ready for us to enjoy.

I really didn’t know what to order, so I just found words on the menu that caught my eye. I found their Fish Tacos which was blackened haddock, chipotle mayo, horseradish cream, hot sauce, pineapple salsa, coleslaw, mixed green salad. Now that I look at it, I think they forgot my salad as I didn’t get one! 🙁 The pineapple salsa and the haddock was the highlight, it was delicious and refreshing. The hot sauce was absolutely delicious, and it wasn’t just “hot”, it had lots of flavours in it too.

We also ordered their Chicken Pot Pie made with pulled chicken, light thyme cream, then topped with light and flaky puffed pastry with an organic mixed green salad. Clearly, this meal came with the salad. The filling in this pot pie was really good, and it wasn’t heavy at all.

Overall, we really enjoyed the dining experience here on the patio! We enjoyed watching the pig roast and the food and service was really good. I’m sure we’ll be back one day to see how the pig gets used – and to try it too!

Ceili's Modern Irish Pub on Urbanspoon

Ceili’s Modern Irish Pub

297-9737 Macleod Trail South
Calgary, AB
(403) 252-2700

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Max Brenner :The Forum Shops At Caesars Palace – Las Vegas, Nevada

I’ve been to Las Vegas many times, and I always walk the shops at Caesars Palace. I always find myself looking at this restaurant Max Brenner as it’s also called “Chocolate by the Bald Man” which always seems a bit odd to me. I wanted to go there for sure this one trip and so we went in for a lunch!

During this visit, it was in the winter, so it was actually pouring rain. I knew I wanted something hot, and my favourite go to drink is a hot chocolate. I ended up ordering their Choco-Pops Hot Chocolate which was amazing! It’s a delicious milk hot chocolate with little chocolate wafer balls that floated on top and added a phenomenal crunchy texture while enjoying the hot chocolate!

We also ordered a cold drink, just to add some variety! So, we ordered the Hazelnut Cream Chocolate Milkshake which was very tasty and not overly sweet as you may want to expect. It’s a hazelnut chocolate milkshake with vanilla ice cream, chocolate truffle, and topped with whipped cream! This drink was excellent and it was something full of flavour!

As this was a lunch, we ordered their Illegal Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Pancakes which was a huge stack of giant chocolate pancakes, topped with chocolate truffle cream, chocolate shavings and caramelized bananas! This is the breakfast for those who need sugar to start your day – and the great thing about it was the fact it wasn’t overly sweet at all! In fact, you know it’s chocolate but it’s not overwhelming at all! I absolutely loved the caramelized bananas with these pancakes and I think this is one of their signature meals, so I would recommend it too! 🙂

The last thing we ordered to share was the Chocolate Hazelnut Crepe which as the name implies was a beautiful and delicate crepe filled with chocolate hazelnut spread then topped with strawberries. It also comes with a little flask of milk chocolate ganache!

At the end, we were extremely stuffed! We would never had imagined the chocolate pancakes would be such a large portion. We ate as much as we could but we definitely finished the drinks! Afterwards, we wandered the gift shop and made a few delectable purchase too! I’m sure we will return as this was an experience I’ve been recommending everyone – and I want more!

Max Brenner

3500 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV
(702) 462-8790

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Li-Ao Sushi, Calgary

One of my co-workers told me Li Ao Sushi was a fantastic place to go to for sushi, and so I knew it was a must for me to try! Tucked away a little in the southwest (Bridlewood) strip plaza is this little restaurant! It’s not a huge place, but they do seem to change tables quickly. A lot of their customers were take out as well.

We sat down and was still looking at the menu, and the waiter gave us a plate of Deep Fried Tuna Gyozas which was compliments of the house! We looked at it funny at first, but when we bite into it, it was packed with flavour! It was no ordinary fried tuna gyoza, it was excellent!

We ordered a bowl of Miso Soup each, and it was standard – but at the same time, miso soup doesn’t get too fancy or different, so at least it was good!

For the sushi, of course I ordered a few sushi pieces which are my favourites, the Salmon and Tuna Sushi and those came together first on a plate with both of them. They were in huge pieces and the fish was very fresh!

After that, the next plate that came was my huge order of the Smoked Salmon Sushi as it’s a favourite of mine as well, and if it’s there, I’m ordering it!

We ordered some of their special rolls, and the first roll that came out was the Salmon Mango Roll which they didn’t really describe what it was – but it was a tempura shrimp with avocado roll topped with some cream cheese. Then piled high on top of that was salmon and mango. The mix was so delicious and almost refreshing! I did find there was a little too much cream cheese, but it didn’t stop me from finishing the roll!

The last roll we decided to order was the Female Dragon Roll and we really picked it because anything with the word “female” in the name has got to be awesome! 🙂 In honesty, it wasn’t as good as the salmon mango roll for me, but this was still good! I actually don’t remember what was inside, besides the ingredients that you do see… the tempura shrimp, with salmon and spicy mayo! I guess it just wasn’t that memorable for me.

Overall, the portion sizes here are huge! It’s definitely worth your time, money and effort to give this place a try! At the end of your visit, the owner will give the ladies in the restaurant a box of Pocky sticks too!

Li-Ao Sushi on Urbanspoon

Li-Ao Sushi

#231, 2335 162 Ave SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 719-9668

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Bolsa Vietnamese – Calgary, Alberta

Honestly, I never thought I’d find myself at Bolsa Vietnamese Restaurant after the 2009 shooting for some reason. But, with all the great reviews from here, I knew I would have to! So, I pulled up my brave pants and ventured off! We were greeted at the door by really friendly staff and tons of fish tanks! They’re just their pets/decoration, but they sure had a lot of them! I ordered the Bolsa Special Salad Rolls and they were different than any other salad rolls I’ve ever had! It was soft with tons of filling and packed with flavour!

While we were deciding to order, all the staff kept mentioning to try “spicy”… so, we asked them how spicy it was, and they said “quite spicy!” So, we ordered a bowl of Pho Bo Kho – medium spicy which really means we got a bowl of satay beef rice noodles. It was the perfect amount of heat (I can’t imagine the spice with it at full spicy!) even though I know we will be back just to try it!

We also ordered something a little lighter option and opted for Bolsas Special Rice Vermicelli which was the regular warm rice noodle without soup, but with nuoc cham and goodies. The goodies in this special was pork and beef sausages and I think there were some ground shrimp cake as well! Regardless, all the individual items tasted wonderful alone and even better together in the bun style!

Overall, we’ve been comparing all our Vietnamese experiences to this one. This one has just set a high benchmark for us – so for sure we’ll become a regular customer here!

Bolsa Vietnamese on Urbanspoon

Bolsa Vietnamese

180 94 Ave SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 255-3777